


When Sparks of Love Fly

by Missus_cupcake



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull - Freeform, Adoribull Reverse Bang 2019, M/M, Maybe a slow burn?, and some references to sex, many companions make an appearance, most of the romance happens near the end haha, there's a little bit of swearing, written for the Adoribull reverse bang 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:37:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22281553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missus_cupcake/pseuds/Missus_cupcake
Summary: Love is unpredictable, unruly, and plain cruel at times. You never know who you will fall in love with, or even if that love will last, but when you see those sparks of love fly, you must know that it is the real deal – because love is always just a little bit dangerous, but we always love it, nonetheless.
Relationships: Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus
Kudos: 4
Collections: The Collected Fanfics for the Adoribull Reverse Bang 2019





	When Sparks of Love Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Adoribull Reverse Bang 2019, and inspired by the amazing fanwork drawn by @strawberrhi on Tumblr, and you can see their artwork here: https://strawberrhi.tumblr.com/post/190296228538/sparks
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this lovely story!!

Our story starts in the most peculiar place – the end of the world. A giant rift opened to the world of demons, raining terror and destruction and death on the people of Thedas. At first glance, everything looks doomed from the start, yet the most peculiar person is discovered – a young girl by the name of Marie, right palm glowing that same sickly green light as the rifts of doom, yet such a bright smile full of life displayed on her lips at even such inconceivable moments. Things look so stacked against this child, yet she works hard with her companions by her side to partially close the largest such rift causing the most immediate damage to our world. Perhaps things are over, and this child can return to her simple life? If only! No, this young child, no more than fourteen years of age and barely taller than the resident dwarf sir Varric Tethras, is destined to save the world!

But not all on her own, heaven’s no! Through her journeys all over Thedas trying to bring peace and order, and of course closing pesky demon-filled rifts, her adorable charm and ambitious goals helped her in gaining allies and companions who became dedicated to her cause of trying to fix this blighted mess. Most importantly, our story today involves two particular companions who seemed to have found the light in each other despite these dark times, and despite what the world may say about them being together. It’s fantastic, isn’t it? How love can bloom where no one expects it? Ah, it’s marvelous!

So the blocks of our love story begins in the dreariest place you could think – the Storm Coast! Raining every minute of every day, the wind howling and blowing the freezing droplets into unprotected faces, oh and of course the creeping suspicious of enemies around every corner! Little Marie ventures with her companions here near the beginning of her campaign in search of allies and to close those pesky rifts that seemingly pop up everywhere.

~

“Varric, do you know how much longer until we get to this Storm Coast? I do not like this cold rain, and we haven’t been able to have decent fire to warm ourselves up in two days! I’m cold and tired Varric!” Marie pouted as she slouched on her roan mare, Marguerite, her hood dripping rain into her eyes as she looked at the dwarf.

“We should be there by this time tomorrow little Herald. Hopefully the Inquisition has a decent shelter set up for us when we get there…” Varric replied, muttering that last part in hopes to not worry the girl. Marie just sadly hummed, and looked around her horse’s neck to spy Solas and Cassandra just a few feet in front of the two. Varric twisted around to see that Blackwall was still bringing up the rear of the group, and the Grey Warden nodded to the dwarf as they caught each other’s eye.

Like the little Herald, Varric was fed up with all this rain and all the cold they’ve had to deal with the past few days since they’ve been getting closer to the Storm Coast. _At least its only early spring… if it were winter things could be a lot worse…_ Varric thought with a shiver, glancing to look at Marie, who looked ahead miserably in the wind and rain, which was a stark contrast to her usual demeanor. Even facing that giant rift at the Temple of Sacred Ashes the kid was optimistic and full of life and smiles, but Varric thought that everything must be adding up and taking a toll on the child.

_Only another day travelling in these conditions… hopefully we’ll be able to finish up things in the Storm Coast fairly quickly and get the kid back to Haven for some well needed rest…_

Up ahead, Solas and Cassandra were locked in conversation about what they would be expecting once they arrived at the Storm Coast.

“I do not like this… hiring mercenaries to fight for the Inquisition! What will the Chantry think? Ugh, if only these times were not so desperate and we had the time to train our own soldiers…” Cassandra scoffed, keeping her eyes trained on the path ahead.

“Did you not mention that Leliana has approved of them? I believe that to be our biggest concern than the Chantry at this time… they have already decided we are not worth much help.” Solas countered the Seeker, who let out a disgusted noise.

“Yes, yes… Leliana believes them to be a valuable asset to our cause, she has already said there should be nothing concerning about them… I understand where she’s coming from; experienced fighters will certainly help in unexpected attacks in our early stages.” Cassandra shook her head and sighed, as Solas nodded in agreement beside her.

“I for one an intrigued to see these ‘Bull’s Chargers’… I wonder what their fighting styles would be, especially if they had any mages…” Cassandra scoffed at Solas’s words and all the elf did was give her a sideways glare, although shaking his head. The two fell into silence after their conversation, the only noises were the sound of hooves, the wind, and the rain splattering on the ground.

The rest of the day was quite uneventful. Continuing towards their destination, there hadn’t even been any rifts or any sort of attacks in the past few days so everything seemed to have fallen into a monotonous ritual of traveling through the horrid weather. The wind had died down slightly by the evening, and the rain had been gone since later afternoon, so little Marie was ecstatic to sit by a warm fire in the evening before heading off to her tent for the night. Another early morning – as Varric had heard from Cassandra, they should be well to their destination in the Storm Coast by early afternoon at the latest. In the morning the rain was back in full force, although the wind was calmer than previous days. Packing up and mounting their horses, Marie’s group was ready to venture farther into this windy, muddy, rocky terrain.

As per usual these last few days, nothing stood in their way as they made their way towards the Inquisition’s camp. With the horses trudging through mud and rain, soon they found themselves at the encampment where soldiers rushed up to greet everyone and to take care of the horses for the time being while they explored on foot from here on.

“Ah, Herald! Welcome to the Storm Coast!” Scout Harding greeted after everyone had dismounted and gathered all their things from the horses. “Glad you were able to make it in time despite the rain we’ve been having these few days! Heh, to be fair that’s all it does here in the Storm Coast!”

“We’re glad to finally be here for sure.” Cassandra nodded politely to the dwarf. “What are we dealing with here?”

“Well, there’s the usual rifts spread out across the coast, and not long ago we began hearing battle noises on the beach where the Bull’s Chargers are supposed to be meeting you, but some of our soldiers have gone missing and haven’t reported back to us after venturing farther up the mountains scouting farther ahead for you and your companions, Lady Seeker.” Scout Harding explained, Cassandra nodding along, taking it everything she was saying.

“Thank you very much. We will be heading down to the beaches to meet these mercenaries as that is our primary goal, but we will look into those missing soldiers for you. Come on everyone, let us not waste time.” Cassandra thanked the woman and motioned for everyone to follow her through the camp and towards the faintest of battle sounds down on the beach.

As Scout Harding mentioned, at a cliff overlooking the beach below the Inquisition’s encampment, there was a large group of mercenaries battling off what looked to be a mixed group of Tevinter fighters and such. Hardening her look, Cassandra unsheathed her sword and begin a charge down the mountainside towards the beach.

“For the Inquisition!”

Blackwall was close behind the Seeker, and Solas, Varric, and Marie followed at a slower pace to find advantageous places to pick off the enemies from afar with their ranged attacks. It didn’t take too long to defeat the Tevinter enemies with the Herald’s companions and all of the Bull’s Chargers working to take down the dozen or so fighters. With a small exhale, Marie sheathed her bow and arrow and looked around the beach for Cassandra, who seemed to be doing the same. The Seeker beckoned the girl over, and Marie hopped over happily, the rain beginning to die down after the short battle.

Not too far away from the Seeker stood a giant… man?... person of some sort, with large horns and a scary eyepatch, but a surprisingly bright smile. Marie stood slightly behind Cassandra as he approached the women.

“Hey there, name’s The Iron Bull, leader of the Bull’s Chargers. Guessing you’re the ones with the Inquisition?” The man thoomed, his voice deep and loud to little Marie.

“Correct. I am Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, and this is the Herald of Andraste, Mariette d’Argent, although she prefers to be called Marie. Right, Marie?” Cassandra spoke to The Iron Bull, pulling Marie out from behind her. The girl gave a small squeak, looking up towards the giant man.

“H-hello there sir! Would you perchance like to join the Inquisition? I’m always looking for friends ehehee…” Marie mumbled sheepishly, a timid grin on her face.

The Iron Bull let out a booming laugh, and looked down to the small Herald. “Never thought the Herald would be imekari… I think this is the start of an amazing partnership. Though, I do have something to say that might piss you off…”

~

The first important character is our amazing story of love is none other than the amazing, fantastic, The Iron Bull! A large man by all means, strong and super badass, but of course a giant softie at heart! Although, never one to ever have believed in love before, so whoever could be the one to steal this Qunari’s heart?

~

Marie looked in confusion as Alexius escorted his son out of the tavern, then looked towards her companions who stood behind her with another perplexed look, handing a small piece of paper towards Solas.

“It reads ‘You are in danger. Meet in the Chantry.’ Could this be a trap? I’m not sure what that Tevinter could want with us.” Solas spoke, his brow wrinkling in thought.

“Oi, if it says the kid is in danger shouldn’t we go? Isn’t that our whole job eh? Bleh, you can’t ever trust mages I tell ya…” Sera groaned, a shiver going down her spine at the thought of all that icky magic.

“Hrm, I don’t see any problem with it… the kid has us, we cam beat up any kind of butt eh Boss?” Bull rumbled, giving Marie a small pat on the head, making her giggle softly.

“Yeah, I think we should go… I don’t think Felix would put us in danger, he seems like a nice kid, wouldn’t do anything mean or something…” Marie muttered, nodding her head in thought. “Yes, we should go check out this Chantry! Inquisition onward ehehee!”

At Marie’s words, she and her companions made their way out of the tavern and back into the village of Redcliffe. Solas looked around for a moment then pointed out to Marie where the Chantry was located – just across the way, not too far. With the elven mage at her side, Marie led them to the Chantry. Everything looked deserted, the coast was clear, so with the help of The Iron Bull she opened up the large double doors. The Chantry was dark and the smell of dust was even more prominent as the doors closed behind everyone.

Marie shivered in the dim light, the feeling of electricity in the air and in her palm, and in a flash that sickly green light that signified a demon-filled rift flashed to life at the end of the large corridor. With a yelp, Marie leapt to action and ran towards the rift, Solas, Sera, and Bull behind her.

“Just in time!” An accented voice called from near the rift. A clearly Tevinter man stood with a staff raised, fighting off demons with blasts of purple lightning. Marie and her companions quickly jumped into action to rid the Chantry of these demons as quick as possible, and Marie standing near the back of the battle, shooting of arrows and disrupting the rift whenever possible. As the final demon fell, Marie ran forward quickly and shut the rift with her mark – a skill she has gotten much better at over time.

“Who are you? We were expecting to meet a young man by the name of Felix here.” Solas was the first to ask the strange man, sheathing his own staff on his back.

“Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous, at your service!”

~

And our second lovebird has joined little Marie’s cause! Gosh, love stories are the greatest, but hold your horses cause this is only the beginning!

Now, one thing you may be wondering is how would the two of these men ever fall in love? The two of them have such seemingly contrasting personalities, not to mention all the racial tension in both of their cultures! Well, as many should know, love definitely works in many mysterious was… Heh, as fate would have little Marie eventually become the Inquisitor for this noble cause, and for her to have recruited both these men as allies, perhaps it is the fates who’ve decided the two should be together…

~

Life for the Inquisition seemed to slow down and become… comfortable, in a way, after the disaster at Haven and moving and settling in to Skyhold. Repairs had been underway for weeks now, and the once ruined castle is looking better after each day. Refugees, traders, and recruits had come in bunches, but were still trickling in as word got around that the Inquisition was just as strong, perhaps stronger even, after the fall of Haven. Dorian was still slightly flabbergasted at the choice to officially elect little Marie as the Inquisitor for the Inquisition. Yes, the child proved to be highly skilled in battle and in the messed up politics surrounding all of southern Thedas, but in Dorian’s mind she was still a child. It didn’t help that despite her age she was barely half his height, and her face still held much of that childlike innocence he can barely remember himself.

Speaking of the Inquisitor, Marie had been gone for the last week, along with Blackwall, Vivienne, and Varric, for she had travelled to the Hinterlands to finish up some kind of Inquisition business and to of course continue spreading the word of the Inquisition and its current state. Dorian had simply been living a simple life these past few weeks – they had begun to fill up the library with many books that had been collected or brought by traders, and the Tevinter had set himself up in a lovely reading nook that he spent his days pouring over books and journaling and of course trying to figure anything out about this Corypheus fellow. In a way it was quite relaxing after the hectic few months of travelling with the Inquisitor herself, so Dorian gladly took these calm moments to heart, reading by candlelight and sipping freshly brewed tea.

Although, recently Dorian had picked up a sort of strange pastime… one early morning he was walking the walls and had spotted The Iron Bull and his Chargers training down in the designated training area that Commander Cullen had set up, and Dorian had become addicted ever since. There was nothing like such a strong man with sweat dripping down his body, swinging that huge ax of his around and around like it weighed only a feather, and seemingly beating the crap out of his men, but they always seemed to be laughing and having a great time.

Whenever Dorian ‘happened’ to be walking along the walls early in the morning he would always make it habit to watch Bull and his men training and sparing… Dorian wasn’t too sure why, but it was always so fascinating to him, to watch that handsome man fight…

“Kaffas!” Dorian swore to himself, softly slamming his book closed and setting it on the small table next to his reading chair, running a hand through his hair at what he had just thought.

_The Iron Bull, handsome? Of course, he does have quite chiseled features, but whatever could make me believe the qunari to be handsome? Ha, as if he’d be interested in a Tevinter like me, even so, the brute is always claiming about his prowess in bed, and it doesn’t take an intelligent man to connect the dots when all the working ladies brag about their greatest lays… Kaffas, am I such an idiot? Am I really catching feelings…?_

Dorian shook his head to clear his thoughts, taking a long sip of his tea as he slightly reheated it in his hands. Just as he was about to return to his book, a loud commotion seemingly down in the lower courtyard caught his attention. With a raised brow, Dorian made his way to a window and spied what could only be the young Inquisitor and her companions returning from their most recent expedition. The Tevinter smiled, because despite her young age Marie was quite intelligent and loved to learn new things so the child was surprisingly interesting to have conversations with. Also, the child was of course stereotypically extra friendly with everyone and very much disliked sleeping in a tent on her own, so Dorian has had his share of having the child cuddled up next to him in his tent during some of their journeys. Even after the events of Haven, the child wouldn’t sleep up in the room everyone pitched in to help make homey and comfortable for her – which is understandable to Dorian, considering all the trauma that has happened to the poor thing.

Dorian set his teacup down and began sorting and storing his books for later, then made his way down into the main receiving hallway of Skyhold’s castle where Marie would most likely be in a few minutes time. When he entered the hall, not many people were there – that figures, since most were probably working or even had just rushed out to catch a glimpse of the Inquisitor as she returned to Skyhold. Dorian simply chose a stone pillar to lean against until Marie showed up.

_Hrm, I should have perhaps brought a book with me…_

It wasn’t too long of a wait until Marie entered the large double doors, Cassandra at her side. Dorian gave a small smile and waved to the child, who gave a large grin and ran towards him as soon as she caught his eye. Dorian barely reached his arms out in time before she jumped up for a large hug from the Tevinter.

“Dorian!! It is so good to see you! I missed you lots Dorian! It was difficult getting used to Miss Vivienne’s magical fighting style… did I say I missed you lots??” Marie rambled, her arms latched tightly around Dorian’s waist as he simply chuckled at her demeanor.

“It is good to see you too Marie! I was afraid I would get old and fat just sitting here reading books and drinking tea! Good thing you are back!” Dorian ruffled the girl’s hair as she unlatched her arms, but still held that large grin on her face.

“Come now, Inquisitor. The others are waiting in the War Room. Best to not keep them waiting much longer.” Cassandra urged, a hand lightly placed on Marie’s shoulder. The girl looked up to the Seeker and nodded with a small smile.

“I will see you later Dorian!” Marie gleefully bode goodbye, following after Cassandra towards the War Room. Dorian waved lightly towards the girl as she left, wondering what business they would need her to do as soon as she had returned… It was a common occurrence with most of the inner circle where they criticized how much work and pressure was put on the poor child, and now Dorian feared Marie would have more responsibilities since becoming the official Inquisitor.

_Ah well, there’s not much I can do other than hope that child will be able to handle whatever is thrown at her…_ Dorian thought to himself, idly walking towards the large doors and not paying much attention when suddenly he collided with a hard surface and almost ended up on his ass from the impact until a pair of strong arms steadied him by the shoulders.

“Hey there Dorian. Everything okay?” Said The Iron Bull, a goofy look in his eyes yet still concerned for the Tevinter in front of him. Dorian sighed light and brushed Bull’s hands off of him lightly.

“Sorry, I was in my head for a moment there. Just thinking about little Marie and how we’re all concerned that she’s being over worked… you know, she’s just gotten back from whatever expedition and already have her back in the War Room discussing something more…” Dorian rambled, and Bull nodded along.

“I was wondering where she had gotten to. I hadn’t gotten a welcome back hug yet. I was helping Krem out with some training as we heard the commotion, and when I was done I couldn’t find the kid. Makes sense, the world’s all gone to shit..” Bull rumbled, and it was Dorian’s turn to nod with Bull’s words.

The two fell into an awkward silence… well, to Dorian, it was awkward, because he still had earlier’s thoughts on his mind and he still couldn’t wrap his head around _why_ , so all Dorian did was just stand there idly and just look around the hall.

“Hey, did you want to go get a drink?” Dorian heard Bull say out of the blue, and it took all of Dorian’s willpower to not jump in shock or react too violently.

“Hm, whatever for?” Dorian tried to sound casual, cocking an eyebrow to the qunari.

“Who needs a reason to drink?” Bull laughed lightly, patting Dorian’s shoulder. “But no, why not? I never get much time with anyone but the Chargers when I’m not on the road with the Inquisitor, so it could be fun!”

“Sure, as you say, why not?” Dorian replied, and Bull grinned and began his exit of Skyhold and the two men made their way down towards the tavern. That night, the two men drank and bonded as men do, but Dorian was careful to not overindulge himself lest he make a dire mistake based on all these feelings he’s had on this strange day. It was a good evening, and Dorian was able to head to be slightly tipsy, and even more sold on the fact that he believed he was falling for the one and only The Iron Bull.

~

Apparently the Council wanted to send Marie on a long expedition, and was due to leave two days after she had just returned – which made that today – and along with Dorian, Cassandra, Bull, and Varric were on the roster to join the Inquisitor. Establishing a hold in a new area, The Exalted Plains, was what was the current plan, so Dorian that would mostly including politics and demon hunting. Definitely the most exciting thing for sure…

The past two days Dorian had avoided his ‘routine’ of watching Bull and his Chargers training in the mornings, hoping that would alleviate some of the things he’s been feeling, yet it has weirdly only strengthened how he has been feeling, with this sort of deep longing in his chest. Dorian did not like any of this, especially considering he would be on the road with this man for Maker knows how long. Dorian was simply just hoping that he could ignore these feelings until they went away, and then everything would go back to normal and he wouldn’t have to worry about any single interaction with the Iron Bull and how that devilishly smart man would interpret every little thing he would do. So many little concerns were on Dorian’s mind he almost wanted to opt out of this journey in fear he may be too distracted to be of any help, but he would hate to disappoint little Marie – she missed him so much on her short expedition, imagine how much longing she would feel after such an intense journey as the one that is currently being planned.

Dorian would just have to learn to deal and cope with whatever he’s feeling and just hope for the best. Sighing, he grabbed his bags he’d packed the night before and made the trip out to the stables near the main entrance of Skyhold where everyone travelling today would load up their gear and get their horses ready for the journey. Thankfully Dorian wasn’t the last one there, Varric and Bull already seemed ready to go, and surprising they were now waiting on the Inquisitor and Cassandra – usually the Seeker would be the first one there and scoffing and sighing and hurrying everyone else up so they could get on the road as fast as possible. Dorian just shrugged and headed towards his chestnut stallion who Marie had happily named Chester. He went to work and attached his bags securely to the horse’s tack which had thankfully already been taken care of before he’d arrived. It didn’t take too long, and after he was done Dorian simply just stood there patting the stallion’s neck lightly, keeping an eye out for his other two companions.

Not too much longer until Dorian saw little Marie with a sheepish look followed by an angry looking Cassandra walking towards the stables.

“Good morning Dorian!” Marie greeted cheerfully as she found Marguerite and begin attaching her bags to her tack.

“Good morning little Marie… what have you done to upset our resident Seeker so early in the morning?” Dorian asked in jest with a raised eyebrow, making Marie giggle and blush lightly.

“It is kind of a funny story ehehee… I slept in this morning because I knew Cassandra would come get me, BUT I didn’t tell her where I was… I had crawled in with Cullen last night! You should have seen his when I tried to sneak into his office in the dead of night, but he was still doing work at his desk! He needs to learn to get some sleep… off topic, oops! Anyway, Cassandra almost had a heart attack trying to look for, and she finally did, and then I had to go grab my bags, BUT I had forgotten to unpack my old bags and repack new ones! So Cassandra had to help me pack quickly, and all that together made us last… hehe whoops…” Marie explained, seemingly all in one breath, and Dorian couldn’t help letting out a small chuckle at the girl’s antics. From somewhere in the stable, all Cassandra could do was make one of her ‘disgusted noises’ seemingly overhearing Marie’s tale. All Dorian could do was shake his head at the interaction – it was definitely and interesting start to the day, giving a good distraction from his currently conflicting thoughts.

Finally everyone was here and ready to get on the way towards the Exalted Plains – from what Cassandra has told him, it would take about four or five days of travel and they had yet to know fully what needed to be done over there in Orlais, so the Seeker had told everyone to prepare for quite a long journey, just in case. Of course Dorian enjoyed his small part in righting the wrongs done by that blighted Magister, yet the man couldn’t help but complain at the smallest of things, if the situation allowed it. The biggest? Sleeping on the bloody ground, basically. Whoever told these Fereldens that a roll of fur was enough between a body and the ground when sleeping is very sorely mistaken in the eyes of Dorian…

At his thoughts, Dorian let out a little chuckle, glad that he could at least begin to think if something other than The Iron Bull. The qunari in question brought up the rear of the travelling group, with Varric beside Dorian in the middle and Cassandra and little Marie leading in the front, although from what Dorian could see Cassandra was slightly ahead as always.

The first leg of the expedition should be quite simple and painless – they had to first make it out of the Frostback Mountains and out towards Orlais, and that would most likely take the better part of the day, so really all Dorian did was simply relax in his saddle with a loose grip on the reins and trusted Chester to keep a steady pace behind the Seeker and the Inquisitor. He’d had idle conversations with Varric from behind him, but the rest of the day was quite uneventful – most travelling usually was, in his experience.

As expected, they made their way out of the mountains later in the afternoon and kept going along the beaten path until the sky grew dark. Now was again another tedious part about travelling – setting up the camp. Ugh, one of Dorian’s least favorites, but it was slightly better than sleeping under the night sky, no matter how safe the Tevinter felt. When Cassandra had found a decent little cropping in the woods next to the path she led everyone towards it, and Dorian was quick to jump off Chester and get him tied up and settled, because from his experience though a very gentle beast, the horse would run if startled, and Dorian did not want to deal with chasing down a horse in this dying light. He got the horse settled and took off his tack and bags for the night, and Dorian grabbed the tent and started looking for a decent place to set it up. There were four tents to be set up, and of course set up a fire in the middle, and this little outcropping was a decent size, so Dorian didn’t have too much difficulty picking a small corner to set his up for the night. It didn’t take too long, yet Dorian still didn’t enjoy any moment of it. At least with the tent set up, he could get his bedroll set up and try to get some rest – if this journey were going to be like any he’d been on before, then once they got to the Exalted Plains then there wouldn’t be much time to rest.

Soon enough the rest of the tents were set up, and Varric had gotten a fire going with a simple supper simmering away on top. Cassandra made sure to let everyone know what the watch schedule would be tonight – Cassandra, then Bull, then Dorian, then Varric taking the last shift – and then Dorian bode them goodnight and retired to his tent, although despite what he was hoping, the Tevinter didn’t expect to get much rest.

The damned Iron Bull was still on his mind! It had been barely three days since Dorian had come to the realization of his feelings, and he could barely think of much else! Dorian disliked it very much, especially being around Bull all day today, and who knows for how many days more! His thoughts were so conflicted – should he get his rejection over and done with, or should he continue to forever suffer in silence, and hope that one day these feelings would just fade away? Dorian had never really felt this way before – and his father was definitely no help, wanting to never feel like this ever in his life, yet that’s a much more complicated story – and his mind was a muddled and jumbled and just all confused and confounded.

Dorian tossed and turned for what seemed like forever; he wasn’t even sure if he’d gotten any rest or not. With a large sigh, Dorian made himself as presentable as possible and exited his tent. Looking around, all he could see were the tents, the fire, and Bull sitting near the edge of the outcropping on a fallen log someone must have rolled over. It was a quiet night, barely any wind, and all Dorian could really hear was the intermittent crackling of the fire. With another sigh, Dorian decided to head around the fire and took a seat beside Bull – he’d never fall asleep at this rate, and if Bull was already on his watch then Dorian’s would be soon, and if he didn’t sit beside Bull then that would probably cause more problems than solve.

“Hey.” Dorian greeted softly, taking a seat beside the qunari and letting out a soft exhale, slumping over slightly and looking at the fire in front of him.

“Hey there.” Bull grunted in return, looking down at Dorian. “Can’t sleep?”

Dorian hummed solemnly in response. “I do not quite know why. Perhaps I’ve gotten too comfortable at Skyhold these past weeks and my body has simply gotten unaccustomed to this whole travelling thing.” Bull grunted again, turning his head back towards the beaten path.

This silence seemed awkward to Dorian, but the man could barely care at this moment in time, his thoughts were still quite clouded.

_Why was he so attracted to this qunari man sitting so close, yet so far away from him? Was it his rugged yet very handsome features? Was it because he was so skilled in combat, and Dorian’s inner brain thought that to be very attractive? Or, was it because despite his rough and tough looking exterior, Bull really was just so kind and gentle at heart? Or was it just simpler than that, and Dorian was just longing for someone to love and validate him?_

Dorian shook his head and scoffed quietly at himself. _I’m perfectly happy on my own, I’ve never needed anyone else. Why am I thinking such irrational thoughts such as these?!?_

Dorian sat there, a scowl present on his face, when he felt a hand lightly grab him on the shoulder. “Hey, you alright there Dorian? You seem to be deep in thought there…” Bull asked lightly, and startled Dorian out of his silent funk. He blinked, registering the qunari’s words.

“I’ll be fine. There’s nothing you need to worry about Bull.” Dorian brushed of his words lightly, trying not to make a big deal with that handsome as hell face staring down at him full of concern.

“You sure? You can talk about it, I can keep secrets y’know, Ben Hassrath and all that.” Bull tried to reason with Dorian, but he just shook his head and sighed lightly.

“It is stupid thoughts plaguing me Bull. Nothing that wont go away in time.” Dorian muttered with a slight frown, sighing lightly.

From Dorian’s vantage point, Bull looked to be deep in thought. _Still so handsome in only this firelight…_ Dorian’s mind told him, and it took his strongest effort to not physically shake his head to try and get rid of those thoughts. Maker help him and Bull could actually read minds, that would just make everything so much more damned interesting…

Oh kaffas! Dorian was going to do it, and Maker help him if everything goes to hell…

“Do you – do Qunari – believe in love?” Dorian asked out of the blue, fidgeting lightly in his seat, hoping Bull would be startled enough by his question that he didn’t notice him.

Bull just burst out laughing, making Dorian’s heart sink. “Is this the burning question on your mind? Heh I can’t believe you would lose sleep over this! Whew, I did not expect this for sure, Dorian… Honestly I’m not really sure… The Qun for sure really likes to harden down the fact that romantic relationships are not beneficial in the slightest, and like you know children are never made from love, only from what could be the most beneficial to the Qun… maybe in an abstract way Qunari do love… perchance not romantically, but among friends and workmates and companions, especially soldiers who’ve fought together for years may have found some kind of love for their fellow soldiers… The only examples of love I could think of would be among Tal-Vashoth and Vashoth… they leave the Qun for a reason, and perhaps that reason is romantic love. Does that answer your question Dorian?”

Dorian thought for a moment, wondering if he should push his luck further. “Sort of, thank you Bull… but I have another, if that’s alright? Where would you put yourself on this sort of diagram you’ve created?”

Bull looked to Dorian, his eye full of thought, and Dorian shivered looking him right in his eye. “I really don’t know, Dorian. I’ve not given it much thought, really… Hrm, I know I love the Charges, despite how bastardly they may act sometime; they’re my men, and I’ve come to care for them over the years. I know that I love little Marie in a ways – who can’t? The kid is just so kind and innocent and just makes everyone love her. But if we’re talking romantic love… I don’t quite know. I mean, yeah, sex is great, who doesn’t love sex? But loving another person, no I don’t think I have… but that doesn’t mean that I may never love a person, who knows what could happen! Look at all the seemingly impossible shit the world’s gone through over these past few months! Heh maybe someone could learn to love this old scarred body of mine… And who knows, maybe I could fall in love with someone someday, too…”

Dorian was quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything Bull had to say. _He didn’t say he_ didn’t _believe in love, yet he never explicitly said he’d be glad to fall in love with someone… should I just stop here? Perhaps I’ve tested enough of my luck this night…_

“Hey Dorian. Why did you wanna know? I’m flattered for the question, and talking is much more fun than sitting here alone in silence, but it is quite the strange question to be asking literally in the middle of the night.” Bull asked with a slight chuckle, and Dorian shivered once again, a small frown making its way to his face. _What do I say?! What do I say?!_

“I was uh, just curious Bull. We don’t hear much about Qunari other than they’re brutes that only like fighting over in Tevinter, and despite knowing you for the last few months I’ve not had much the chance to get to know you. I apologize if you thought my question to be rude and inconsiderate Bull. I will try and keep my curiosities to myself.” Dorian tried to stay calm, although he would admit he wasn’t looking Bull directly in the eye – he didn’t think he could and keep a calm demeanor at the same time.

Bull just looked at him with a steely gaze. “Bullshit. You can’t look me in the eyes and you’ve got a rapid heartbeat – tell tale signs of lying. If you don’t want to tell me, fine, then tell me that. You should know by now that I don’t appreciate being lied to, Dorian.”

 _Kaffas! Maker, what do I do now?!?_ “I’m sorry, Bull. You’re right. It’s just, well, my reasoning is quite strange, and I just didn’t want to make things awkward…”

“I’m a pretty easy-going guy, Dorian. You can tell me anything. I’m sure you can’t phase me that badly.” Bull spoke lightly, giving Dorian an encouraging smile, although that did nothing to quench any of his fears. Dorian shook his head lightly and cleared his throat, then looked Bull right in the eye.

“I wanted to ask you if you believed in love because I wanted to find out if there was any chance you’d ever fall in love with me.” Dorian stated in a matter of fact way, looking to Bull’s face to watch his reaction.

Nothing. Bull kept a neutral face for a few moments, making Dorian frown. He looked away, and was getting ready to stand up and go back to his tent for the time being when Bull reached out and grabbed his hand gently. Dorian looked up to Bull, a light blush on his cheeks, to see such an intensity in Bull’s eye, looking right at him.

“I apologize Dorian. I certainly was not expecting something like that. Are your words true? Do you really mean what you said?” Bull asked softly, his eyes now holding a gentle look, his hand still holding Dorian’s.

Dorian cleared his throat softly, looking up to meet Bull’s eyes. “Y-yes, Bull. In a ways, perhaps. I don’t know, just these past few days I’ve come to the realization that I like the look of your face and I would enjoy if I got to know you on a more personal and romantic level…”

Dorian was at a loss of what to do. He felt several shades of red just being next to Bull, basically confessing all of his feelings to the qunari in the dead of night. From beside him, he felt Bull give off a light chuckle.

“You like my face, eh? Quite a compliment there, ‘Vint.” Bull rumbled, and Dorian scowled at the slightly mocking tone.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t get the chance to prepare a whole speech about why I like you, Bull!” Dorian muttered, taking his hand back from Bull and crossing his arms with a light huff.

“Oh I’m sorry Dorian, I’m just teasing. Like I said, wasn’t expecting something like that…” Bull chuckled lightly, giving Dorian a light pat on the head, and Dorian had to admit that he didn’t really mind it. “If it makes you feel any better, I also enjoy the look of your face. Very masculine, your mustache frames your face just right!”

“I feel like that is still slightly teasing, Bull.” Dorian chuckled, looking back at Bull. The qunari in question held a big goofy smile on his face, and Dorian couldn’t help but blush some more. Dorian felt at peace, finally getting this huge revelation off of his chest, and even in silence, being next to Bull right now just made his heart feel lighter and quite happy. Still so many shades of red, Dorian reached out to hold Bull’s hand once again, and this time the two caught the other’s eye/s, and Dorian could see just the slightest of red tint on the qunari’s cheeks. Or could it simply be the firelight? Dorian couldn’t tell for sure, but whatever it was it still made his heart happy to have Bull’s hand in his own.

Can you fall in love with someone in a matter of minutes? Dorian didn’t know, he might never be able to ask such ridiculous questions and expect the universe to answer, but whatever Dorian was feeling felt like what love should feel like, he supposes. He hoped that whatever Bull was feeling right now was similar to what he felt – Maker, he’d love to try and love Bull with all his heart, if the qunari would let him.

“Hey Bull? What does this mean, exactly?” Dorian asked, his hand still in Bull’s. Bull looked to Dorian, a smile still on his face and such an emotion in his eyes that Dorian had never really seen before.

“What do you want it to mean, Dorian?” Bull asked in an even tone, rubbing his thumb gently over Dorian’s palm. “This is new to me, too. Yeah, I know sex, I’m _really good_ at sex, but I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I want more than that with you, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Y-yeah, I definitely want more with you too, Bull.” Dorian stuttered out, blushing even more at what Bull was potentially insinuating. Bull seemed to have noticed this, because he grinned even larger than before.

“Oh, don’t you worry Dorian. Once we get back to Skyhold and someplace a little more private, you’ll get to know how _good_ I can be, and how _great_ I can make you feel.”

Dorian barely held back a squeak of embarrassment, definitely knowing what the qunari is insinuating now. “Okay.” Is all he was able to mumble out, making Bull rumble with a great laughter.

“Y’know, Dorian, I think this is the start of something great.” Bull said after his laughter died down, and before Dorian could react much, Bull’s lips were soon on his own with the sweetest and gentlest of kisses he’d ever had. It was short, and chaste, but to Dorian it felt like eternity. Fire and sparks all along his body from just the feeling of Bull’s lips on his own, he felt as if he could melt from the feeling alone. Dorian hoped that the crackling of the fire in front of them was louder than the rapid beating of his heart, because to Dorian everything felt as if it had fallen into place in those few short seconds of a delicious kiss.

All Dorian could do was look at Bull with a look that seemingly was a mixture between ecstatic and surprised, and his cheeks were probably so red, which made the man blush even more at the embarrassing thought.

“I was going to say I hope that was alright, but by the look on your face I’m going to assume it _definitely_ was okay.” Bull rumbled lightly, brushing Dorian’s cheek with his free hand, his other still being held in his palm. Dorian nodded dumbly and looked to Bull with a small grin.

“Yes, very much so Bull. Very much so.”

~

Five full days to travel to the Exalted Plains, and the Inquisitor’s group ended up staying and working in the plains for around three weeks’ time. Whenever possible, Bull and Dorian would steal kisses from the other, usually in the dead of night while their only witness was the crackling of the orange and red flames in front of them. Like the fire, their relationship bloomed and became heated over the weeks they shared, the sparks of love growing bigger and deeper every day. It took around five more days to return to Skyhold, and everyone was thankful to be back in a more civilised area, especially Dorian, for he was excited to return to his bed.

Or maybe not… as the Iron Bull had promised almost a full month ago, lets just say his first night back in Skyhold didn’t involve much sleep.

Everything had escalated to this highly intimate moment between Dorian and Bull. All those stolen kisses, all those looks of passion given in passing, everything came down to showing each other their love in the most sacred of ways. Even when the world may be ending, the gods have shown that light can still be found in the darkest of corners, in the most unexpected of ways. No one knows where they may find love, but for Dorian Pavus and The Iron Bull, they were able to find it in each other, to hopefully last until the end of their days.

All that fuss over what might happen, confession of love over a sparkling fire was able to ignite this love between the most unlikely men, and nothing, would ever be able to keep them apart.

~

The sun was rising over Skyhold in the morning, that much Dorian could figure out, for the sun was beginning to warm his face. His pillow moving and breathing underneath him, another thing Dorian knew, and he smiled into Bull, remembering everything that had occurred the previous night. Dorian just knew, deep in his heart, that his life felt complete with this wonderful man, and if he would ever look back on his life in the future, he would never ever have it any other way.


End file.
